Vox Telecom today launched its Eyeris videoconferencing product, promising high definition videoconferencing at a significantly lower cost than other solutions currently available on the market.<\/p>\n
“Videoconferencing hasn’t made economic sense until now because of the high capital cost of the equipment, which could run into millions,” says Jacques du Toit, Managing Director of Vox Orion. <\/p>\n
“Both Vox Orion and Vox Datapro are now making bridging facilities available as a hosted solution, while at the same time offering the equipment as an operational rather than a capital expense.” <\/p>\n
Eyeris offers both standard-definition and high-definition options. “The difference that high-definition can make has to be seen to be believed,” says Vox Datapro’s Managing Director Gary Sweidan. “The images are so crystal clear that it really does feel as if people are in the room with you. Videoconferencing is now a real alternative to business travel, and it’s as easy as making a telephone call.”<\/p>\n
Sweidan says Vox is able to offer high-definition videoconferencing thanks to its Fishbone line bonding technology, which combines multiple ADSL and\/or Diginet lines into a single high-bandwidth channel. <\/p>\n
“HD requires a minimum of 1Mbps, which is well within the reach of most companies using Fishbone. With three or more ADSL lines, it can be quite possible to enjoy high-definition videoconferencing at a fraction of the cost of standard definition products already on the market.”<\/p>\n
Vox Telecom’s bridge, available on an hourly rental basis, will also enable multi-way videoconferencing. “The group has made a substantial investment to get the best available bridge technology,” says Vox Orion’s Du Toit. “The equipment can handle 28 simultaneous high definition or 60 simultaneous standard definition videoconferences, as well as voice conferencing. <\/p>\n
Eyeris “changes the landscape completely,” says Du Toit. “There is no longer any need to make large capex investments to enjoy the benefits of videoconferencing. A business which is currently buying even two or three return air tickets a month stands to save both money and time spent on travel.”<\/p>\n
While Vox Telecom did not mention competitors, it is widely seen as a cost effective alternative to Cisco’s TelePresence. Cisco’s TelePresence, first introduced in late 2006, is a high end videoconferencing solution incorporating technologies like WebEx in a high definition environment.<\/p>\n
While Cisco TelePresence is a superior system to Vox Telecom’s Eyeris solution, the far lower price of the Eyeris service is likely to make it an attractive solution to a far wider market.<\/p>\n